5/11/2020 Physical disability - Wikipedia

Physical disability
A physical disability is a limitation on a person's physical functioning, mobility, dexterity or
stamina.[1] Other physical disabilities include impairments which limit other facets of daily living,
such as respiratory disorders, blindness, epilepsy[2] and sleep disorders.

Contents
Causes
Types
See also
References

Causes
Prenatal disabilities are acquired before birth. These may be due to diseases or substances that the
mother has been exposed to during pregnancy, embryonic or fetal developmental accidents or genetic
disorders.

Perinatal disabilities are acquired between some weeks before to up to four weeks after birth in
humans.[3] These can be due to prolonged lack of oxygen or obstruction of the respiratory tract,
damage to the brain during birth (due to the accidental misuse of forceps, for example) or the baby
being born prematurely. These may also be caused due to genetic disorders or accidents.

Post-natal disabilities are gained after birth. They can be due to accidents, injuries, obesity, infection
or other illnesses. These may also be caused due to genetic disorders.

Types
Mobility impairment includes physical defects, including upper or lower limb loss or impairment,
poor manual dexterity, and damage to one or multiple organs of the body. Disability in mobility can
be a congenital or acquired problem or a consequence of disease. People who have a broken skeletal
structure also fall into this category.

Visual impairment is another type of physical impairment. There are hundreds of thousands of
people who suffer greatly from minor to various serious vision injuries or impairments. These types
of injuries can also result in severe problems or diseases such as blindness and ocular trauma. Some
other types of vision impairment include scratched cornea, scratches on the sclera, diabetes-related
eye conditions, dry eyes and corneal graft, macular degeneration in old age and retinal detachment.

Hearing loss is a partial or total inability to hear. Deaf and hard of hearing people have a rich culture
and benefit from learning sign language for communication purposes. People who are only partially
deaf can sometimes make use of hearing aids to improve their hearing ability. Speech and language
disability : the person with deviations of speech and language processes which are outside the range
of acceptable deviation within a given environment and which prevent full social or educational
development

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Physical impairment can also be attributed to disorders causing, among others, sleep deficiency,
chronic fatigue, chronic pain, and seizures.

See also
Mental disability

References
1. "Archived copy" (https://web.archive.org/web/20130724013228/http://pubsites.uws.edu.au/ndco/e
mployment/what/physical.htm). Archived from the original (http://pubsites.uws.edu.au/ndco/emplo
yment/what/physical.htm) on July 24, 2013. Retrieved January 8, 2014.
2. Physical Disabilities, California State University, Northridge (https://web.archive.org/web/1999090
9103353/http://www.csun.edu/%7Esp20558/dis/physical.html)
3. "The free dictionary by Farlex" (http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/perinatal).
Retrieved 30 May 2015.

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This page was last edited on 8 April 2020, at 15:19 (UTC).

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